Icey "Snow" Days

Well we have had quite the long "weekend".  We were already out of school on Friday (for a teacher work day) and Monday (for president's day), then with the added three days of icey "snow" days we enjoyed lots of togetherness time.  It's had its great moments, of wearing pajamas most of the day and reading stacks of books with the kids.  We have made lots of big breakfasts and pots of homemade hot chocolate topped off with handfuls of marshmallows.  There's been lots of playing together and watching of movies.  There's been moments of observing and listening (from around the door frame) as Ava Jane and Emerson had a tea party and he helped her so lovingly put on her dress-up high heels…that was simply precious!

They played in the icey snow and enjoyed it very much while Ava Jane and I enjoyed the beautiful scene from the warmth of the house!

But I must say too, that today, when I woke up at 5:30am I was surprised when I got the first text saying that school had been delayed two hours.  Then by 7:20 they'd recanted that announcement and closed schools altogether!  For this Momma who was hoping to go get her nails done and then come home and "reclaim" the house from the past 48 hours of icey-togetherness, I must say, I was slightly bummed that there was no Mother's Day Out in my immediate future.

I do have to say though, since I'm one of those people who likes to be busy, who enjoys going places and getting things accomplished, it is honestly quite nice to have the weather interrupt my plans and simply have to stop altogether.   Just staying home is never on our agenda, just sitting and reading books and watching movies and playing Legos, just doesn't happen all that often.  I realize that, "it won't be like this for long" as Darius Rucker so poignantly sings, so in the midst of chaos and of trying to keep people occupied without some sort of screen to pass the time I decided to break out the teacher in me.  So I sat with Ava Jane and we sorted blocks by color.   She did this really well.  The first time she kept trying to mix colors but after that she was quick to dump all the small piles back into the big bucket only to start all over again and she got them all correctly sorted after that.  This sweet girl is learning and beginning to remember her letters too, how fast the time is flying, how can she be this big?  Emerson truly impressed me too.  As the third child, I must be honest, I've not spent as much time focused on his letter and number recognition like I did with the older boys.  So when I pulled out the magnetic letter game I was thrilled to learn that he can recall the names of more then half the alphabet and can find the capital and lower case letters to match which is a great start!  Lawson sat and did some word puzzles which he easily put together then worked on some addition and subtraction math sheets.  As the PARCC test assessments grow near, I knew it'd be good to work on some reading comprehension with Peyton.  He did pretty well once I went over the instructions with him, it seems like he has really begun to hit a stride this second grade year.

And as a side note, I know that most of the icey mess is melting today but if you're looking for a "Dreamy Creamy Hot Chocolate" for this next round of winter weather that's in our forecast, here's my go-to recipe.  I guarantee there won't be much leftover after your kids get a taste of this!

You'll need:
1-14oz can sweetened condensed
1/2 C unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
6 1/2 C hot water
marshmallows

In large saucepan, combine sweetened condensed milk, cocoa, vanilla and salt. Mix well. Over medium heat, slowly stir in water, heat through, stirring occasionally. DO NOT BOIL. Top with marshmallows if desired.

**Chocolate can be stored in fridge for up to 5 days. Mix well and reheat before serving.  Enjoy!